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UPDATE: 'Hogzilla 2' killer is 11 year-old Alabama boy
By Stone Martindale May 31, 2007, 14:38 GMT
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No big deal, I was shooting an army carbine in 6th grade. Its great to see a kid outside hunting instead of sitting in front on the tv or playing dumb computer games. I hope he kills a bigger one next year. Congrats
I really get annoyed when people who have no knowledge of gun saftey or hunting traditions make ignorant comments. This 11 year old boy was out hunting with the supervision of his father. He was obviously taught at a young age how to properly & safely handle a firearm. He is not going to be the child who causes an accident because of this. What is really dangerous is when an ignorant adult man who has never had training decides that one day he wants to go hunting & then buys a gun that he has no idea how to use & goes out without supervision because it is ok & he is an adult. That's what I am afraid of. Gun saftey starts with education & boys who are interested in hunting should be educated properly & early on. The best education is supervised experience.
sorry, I was raised to be kind to living creatures. Hunting and killing is a 'tradition' lost on me. There are too many gun toting kids for my taste too. Sue me.
- Stone Martindale
I agree with you Stone. Yes he was supervised but it only takes a blink on an eye for something to happen and besides who in their right mind would let an 11 year old CHILD handle a gun. I wonder what the next thing he'll shoot. Someone's pet?
What's worse a boy learning to use and properly handle a gun. Or a boy sitting and playing a video game that teaches him to steal cars, slap women, and shoot people.
For your sake I hope you chose the former. At least this 11 year old boy knows that there is no respawns in life, where kids playing video games have no understanding of death or even being in the outdoors.
It's just sad that people think this kid is some serial killer. He was with his father! He was being supervised! He knew how to properly use the gun! And they even had the hog turned into food and donated that to charity!! Please tell me whats wrong with that!!!
Hunting has been around since the beginning of time. Every society has hunting in it, in some cultures it is even a rite of passage into becomming an adult. Even vegitarians hunt, it's just that their prey doesn't move much.
And No, 11 years is not young at all to be hunting. As long as he's supervised, it's fine in my books.I think people should focus more of their time into other areas, instead of picking on some 11 year old kid. People trashing this kid, should be ashamed of themselves for picking on a kid.
Well he was on a hunting preserve, I think it's safe to say he's not likely to shoot a pet...come on now. Regardless of personal 'kindness' philosophies on animals, there is no reason this kid or his father deserves flak for hunting. It is highly respectable that a father went hunting with his son, who is obviously knowledgeable and capable of hunting with supervision. The kid is active, outdoors, and spending time with his father; better than most fathers and sons these days.
Stone and Dakota really are ignorant, when was the last time one of the 'too many gun toting kids' (those out hunting with dad, NOT those who are deranged and go to school with one) hurt somebody? Let me read the story without so many pointless personal opinions.
and I bet you don't eat pork either, stone. Maybe you should take a trip to a slaughter house & then decide which is more humane, being slaughtered or shot while grazing in a field. Only vegetarians have the right to make comments like that.
Nice Common sense...I didn't see your post or name before mine went up.
It is quite common, especially in the South, for children to learn the proper use of firearms in a hunting situation. I learned as a child, as did my sons, both of whom are in the military now. Hunting and firearm usage is viewed as a rite of passage with a lot of people. If 'hunting' is lost on you from your point of view, that tells me you grew up in a city. We, who were raised in the 'country', view hunting as a hobby and a gret past time enjoying nature.
As for all the people that have a problem with firearms, you are obviously
clueless and uninformed for whatever reason. This boy did not do anything wrong
he was just doing what he loves. Hunting and spending time with his father(something that is becoming more rare these days). A qun is nothing more than a tool. It's not a toy, and this is good example of a responsible parent that has taught his son that. If this was done more often, there would not be so-called
'accidental' shootings. Something else, this was an 11-year old boy shooting a
'.50 cal.' pistol, whew right-on little man!!!
Welcome to Alabama, I guess. My brothers and I were all educated about guns and weaponry starting at age 8; as the only girl I was not an exception. I was 9 when I shot a rifle for the first time. I never went hunting, though. I don't plan on teaching my child to shoot, but that's mostly because we live in the city (I grew up on Ohio farmland). Why is this such a big deal? The parents were there, as well as guides AND it was a hunting reserve. Sure, some people will cry out for animal rights, but hunting reserves are not against the law and neither are guns- not by a long shot!
Yeah well, to each his own.
I never made a judgment call on the kid in my article.
What I do find incredulous as the parent of two boys-is letting an 11 year old out in 1000 pound feral pig country with a loaded weapon.
And no, I don't eat pork, and am now a vegan-purely for health and weight maintenance reasons-no political agenda. I do miss burgers.
Hunting is not for me-and I would guess a good many Americans who prefer to not spend their precious quality down time getting up at ridiculous early hours to go into the woods to kill something, especially when they can easily go buy their meat in the grocery store.
-Stone Martindale
Well, at least he didn't eat a Corgie. :)
I re-iterate, you must be a 'city' boy, because the majority of youth that grow up in rural areas, do so hunting. Hunting isn't just going out to 'kill' something. hunting teaches many valuable lessons to kids. One, to enjoy and preserve the world that we have been given to live in. Also, one will learn the finality of death first hand. Plus the game that is harvested is a natural meat and teaches that not all meat comes from a slaughter house where animals that have been raise with hormones and steroids are prepared in little plastic bundles to sit on grocery shelves. That's a better lesson than the kids who learn the lessons of life from video games and televisions. They have no concept of the value of a human life, nor the finality of death,therefore they can go into a school and kill innocent beings for no other reason than some imagined wrong that has been done to them.
In reading your thoughtless article, I can understand why you would not want a firearm in your own childrens hands. Maybe you should re-think your position and teach them a little gun safety, it might occur that there would be a need for that knowledge at some point in their life.
Think it over.................
It is a frothy little silly story about a kid from the sticks who killed a mutant pig.
What is thoughtless is the idea in this day and age, you need to go out and shoot something for fun, sport or whatever.
I agree with Stone-and I appreciate the humor there too.
It doesn't come across as a 'frothy' little story, more like an animal rights activist's diatribe about 'poor little animals.' If you've never hunted, then I can't see any reason to value your opinion. If you have no experience in the subject, your thoughts are just chaff in the wind.
Forget about the kid hunting. How does a wild pig get to four times the average size and twice as big as the 'giants'. There has got to be some radiation around those parts.
This hog just ate real good. We raised pigs when I was young and had several boars in the 800 to 1000 pound range. It all depends on how well there are fed and how old they become. South Alabama has a lot of fertile land which will supply plenty to eat.
A couple of comments:
1) For those of you who say shooting a hog is better than playing video games. No one has ever proved a link between video games and gun violence. However there is a direct and irrefutable link between guns and gun violence.
2) What's the big deal, anyway? How hard could it be to kill a 1,000 lb. hog? It's not like it's a small, fast-moving target. The only amazing thing here is that the pig didn't die of natural causes before this kid put him out of his big fat misery.
I'm sure the kid is harmless but when I see something about 11 year olds with guns in the news I think about The Jonesboro school massacre. They were 11 and 13 year old boys and they had been taught at the age of 6 to use guns for hunting. Kids and guns do not go together.
Hogzilla was a legendary feral pig that was killed in Georgia in 2004. There is a film being made about that pig.
After reading all posted comments to date, I for once speak my mind online. I for one, am a hunter, father, and 'country' boy. I was among the few in my young generation (25 y/o) to ge brought up around guns. I was never 'formally' educated in hunter education or gun safety until the age of 12, at which point I was already well versed in hunting and gun usage. I was raised in a manner that most, this day and age, would dissagree with. You people who can't understand why somebody would take a YOUNG MAN (That is what the father is trying to raise) hunting with *heaven fordid* a gun of all things, and actually kill an animal (just as dead as what you find at the store), will never understand our way of thinking...because WE THINK! A few quotes for those of you that think I too, am crazy:
'Never argue with an idiot, as they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.'
'Educated people question what they're told; uneducated people do what they're told.'
'Your failure to be informed does not make me a wacko.' -- John Loeffler
A few other things that I would like to address form the comments:
1. All the school shooting have more than just guns in common. EVERY case of the horrible shootings ALSO included 'children' who were taking anti-psychotic pharmaceuticals. Every single case, every single shooter. That is factual. A kid brought up around firearms in an environment that treats such a thing as a tool, is far better adjusted for LIFE than a child who grew up knowing nothing but city life. That too is a fact, proven statistically for generations. We UNDERSTAND life, appreciate life, and in turn, actually LIVE. Your liberal views are what need to be questioned. Abortion should be in question. Factory farms (to supply YOUR inept culture with 'food')should be in question. The government should be in question. Yet you question the very thing that has occured for centuries, through which your pointless existence was made possible. Turn from your brain-washed understanding (or lack there of) and think for yourselves, the next time your eating your chemical-laden, antibiotic-laced, cruelly-treated animals, that you happily enjoy while whatching E!, The View, and all your other brainless liberal propaganda. Get a life, as we already have one, and don't appreciate your opinions any more than you do ours. On a final note, when the U.S. collapses due to YOUR KIND running it, don't come to US, since we will be the ones SURVIVING. 'It is easier to teach a CHILD than to CORRECT an ADULT.' Think about it.
-Nathan Chapman
I am not against hunting, but when do you go hunting for game with a revolver?
N W Chapman seems like a very angry individual who maybe shouldn't own a gun???
Jim,
First rule of writing: show don't tell. Show us the links that prove your assertions.
My second point is: of course guns and gun violence are better correlated with each other than are video games and gun violence. Of course, you didn't show us the links to prove your assumptions on the links, but I'll admit it.... sigh... here goes...... Yes, there is zero 'gun violence' without 'guns.' The poster's point was not that guns are not involved in gun related violence.
And, of course, the correlation between video games and video game violence is the same, as well as popsicles and popsicle suffocation and tires with flat tires.
Clearly a gun is a necessary, but not sufficient, to have gun violence, whereas video games are neither necessary nor sufficient. However, neither observation requires that video games or guns be causal.
That said, show, don't tell. Your links?
Hmmm... so he bagged a boar... I feel sorry for the kid. Why? Because I grew up just like him, and he will not in all likelihood have the same opportunities I had. I grew up in the bible belt where I learned to hunt and fish and love the land (but not understand it in any deep sense). But it was nothing short of intellectually stiffling to grow up among people who sincerely believed that the Earth was flat (or other equally absurd silliness). I floundered in K-12 and barely had the GPA to graduate. Within 12 years I was teaching at Harvard, and now I study the cerebral cortex in normal and disease states (e.g., Alzheimer's; wish us luck). What happened? I got out. Most of my classmates did not, and I find it sad. You may disagree, but I have the benefit of experience in both worlds.
This kids 'accomplishment' will be forgotten tomorrow, and bagging a boar will not open up the world to him.
Incidentally, I love the land more now than then, and my science studies have given me a much expanded view of the natural world. But all our efforts to preserve it--and even hunting--are in vain if the rural US can not evaluate evidence (re: global warming and other) on their own and must instead rely on 'authorities' who wouldn't know how to integrate f[x^2,x] if their lives depended on it.
dan
I was taught to use firearms by my dad from the age of six, though I've never been hunting. My dad was a farmer and saw this as a rite to passage, I guess. Anyway, I never had the desire to own a gun beyond the service revolver I carried as a plain clothed rent-a-cop that I worked as during the transition that I needed to get back to civilian life from a stint in the army. I was surprised to see how many city kids joined the army over the prospect of handling powerful automatic weapons - yet, they were unable to qualify on the range since they couldn't hit a target 50 feet in front of them. Guys like me, and most farm kids, shot 'EXPERT' when qualifying and had little interest in the weapons ( I could knock a mans head off at 500 meters without a scope) as they were poorly made and jammed easily.
Teaching a child to respect and properly use a weapon at an early age may serve to dispel the urge to carry one to school or carry one as an adult to compensate for some feeling of inadequacy, fear or weakness. A gun is a mechanical device that sometimes makes noise and can kill from a distance - that's all that it is; It's not a measure of manhood or a cause for fear.
Mmmm... sausage... *drool*
It is ok for an 11 year old to use a gun under direct adult supervision. I got my first gun when I was 8 and I have 'harvested' many wild animals and all of them have been put to good use, right next to the potatoes and gravy. Don't damn the boy and his family for enjoying GOD'S gifts. So enjoy your veggies you vegean's and us who enjoy meat are goin' hunting for rabbits. By the way they are great smoked.
Wow, you people who think this is a good thing are freaking me right out. I will come at this from all sides here...
As for being raised in the city vs. the country, I was raised in the country, yet I am not a gun-toting hunter and never have been. I live in the city now, and I'm equally appalled at kids toting guns, whether they are hunting in the back woods or killing each other on the city streets.
As for vegetarianism vs. meat-eating, I am a vegetarian, as are my husband and 4 year old daughter. She has been given the choice to eat meat and she refuses because she doesn't want to hurt any animals. We understand that people eat meat, and we don't think they are bad people. The only redeeming thing this boy did was to give the meat to charity. The real shame here is that the hog had to die in the first place, in such a horrible way. If it had been left to live out its natural life, its meat could have still been given to charity when it died.
As for the boy 'spending quality time with his father,'... wow... how about reading a book together, playing football, or building a bird house? Why killing animals? It's true that far too many children watch violence on TV and participate in violent video games these days. Gone are the days of childhood innocence where kids participated in constructive activities outdoors in the summertime. Hunting animals with your dad is certainly not teaching the boy social skills or even skills that will help him later in life. It is creating the first urges to KILL in a young child, and whether this boy grows up to be a soldier, or a businessman, he will have aquired that urge to kill at a young age. Will that urge ever truly go away now? I think not. Ask yourself what is wrong with society, and try not to entirely blame it on video games and TV. Let's place the blame squarely where it lies: with the parents, because let's face it, the parents are the ones ALLOWING this behavior, whether it's TV, gaming or hunting. How about more parents saying 'No' to destructive activities and instead, allowing behavior that is GOOD for childrens' growth and development? Think about that. Which kind of parent are you?
Maybe if all you county gunlovers got off your couch and got a job maybe you wouldn't have to hunt to provide food for your families, you hill billies!
Listen--I started hunting with my dad brother and both grandfathers at 5 or so. And it was up north, not in the south.
We have a law against hunting pigs on horseback or with dogs--not like the south were they cheat-lol.
I no longer hunt but still fish 50 years later with my wife dad and son. It makes a family a lot closer. Where we live now the deer are the size of dogs. And no I am not a redneck hillbilly I'm a white collar worker as is my wife living in an area of almost 6 million people. I would damn sure prefer my kids going fishing with me than doing drugs in the streets.
Check out the Anniston Star web site. This hog was raised on a farm and then sold to the father of the boy who shot him. The hog was wandering around inside a low-fenced area, basically a hunting preserve, when he was killed. The hog's name, by the way, is Fred.
I don't have a problem with firearms, but I do have a problem with hunting for fun. If hunting was done because of the lack of food in a certain region, then I see it has a necessary thing. But killing something for sport? Cowardly. Just cowardly. Ted Nugent, at least, uses the deer he kills to feed the homeless and hungry. There is someone doing some good with the fact that they feel the ridiculous need to hunt. I don't condone the killing of any animal, but if you are going to do it, do it because there is a need, not just to kill something. I would think it fair if the animals had guns, too, but that's hardly logical. There is no need for any of us to act like a bunch of savages. This BS about honoring the spirit of the animal and all that is just nonsense. There's very little difference between killing an animal vs a human - one living thing killing another. Ridiculous. Hunting is, in no way, a good thing in my book. Firearms? You can shoot clay pigeons for sport or fun. And it is fun because I've done it, but wouldn't kill anything. It's just wrong to kill for no reason.
What does fishing in huh's comment have anything to do with this article??
You'd rather your family went fishing than doing drugs - why does there have to be a choice not to do drugs other than it's a stupid and dangerous thing to do? I agree with the posters who question a boy going hunting with a revolver!
As a person who grew up in a rural area, I never hunted, and neither did the 'majority' of the people around me. In fact, those who hunted were in the minority. To say most people in the rural areas hunt is like saying all people in the city live in skyscrapers. It makes very little sense. Your limited view from the farm, Alan, must mean you believe everyone does as you do, which isn't the case.
First of all Hunting is not a sport. It takes absolutely no talent to kill something that is not armed and, more often than not, not even moving. The mentality that because we are humans we are a 'Superior' race, and that we have the right to kill animals for the pleasure of it or because it's a relaxing experience, or to 'bond' with our children, is disgusting. You want to bond with your children how about doing something that benefits this earth, cleaning a park, volunteering at a shelter, being a big brother/sister? Instead of contributing to the demise of our earth and it's most valuable assets, animals. Without which this planet would be ruined. It's great that this father was spening time with his son, but come on, he's 11 years old and shot a wild creature 8 times, chsed it down, then shot once more point blank to kill it. This creature has survived a long time and along comes some kid who decides he has the right to end it's life. I understand it happened in the south and the mantality is a little bakward down there, but it was wrong. He shouldn't be praised for it he should be punished.
If you read my comments you would see that I don't still hunt but do still fish---
The point is it is much better to be out in nature enjoying God's beauty and abundance than being a tired ass father who lays on the couch and teaches his kids nothing about life.
By the way you sniped at me I would guess you are of the tired ass variety of father who has no idea what the kids are doing.
I realized I had spelling mistakes in my above comment, I am at work and trying to type fast. I had to add this because I know some people get really into these comment things and start picking on people when they make mistakes, like their opinion doesn't matter if they can't word it correctly!
This domesticated, not feral, hog, was shot 16 times over a three hour period. That is how long it took the kid to kill it. Plus, can you imagine being a domestic pet, then being sold to a place where you are roaming wild, no food except what you find then someone comes along and starts shooting at you? Dumb beast or not, that's cruel.
Check out the Anniston Star. There is a full report of the owners who raised the hog (Fred) and they have proof from the Game and Wildlife folks that the hog was sold to the hunting preserve's owner. You can't post a link here, which sucks, or I would. Cowards. That kid didn't accomplish jack, and his 'kill' won't win him the keys to wisdom or teach him to get out of the rural hellhole he lives in.
I would be interested to know what you think country area is( Probably the suburbs)
In real farm country areas most people hunt.
When I went to high school we were allowed to bring our guns to school during deer season and other seasons.
There would be hundreds of high powered rifles(35 cal 30 30, 30 06 etc. in the back windows of trucks and cars in the student parking lot.
Any guess as to how many times in 90 years kids got in trouble with guns in the county at schools-----ZERO--------ZERO------ZERO----------
Any guess what days kids were allowed to skip school each year without getting in trouble with the Principals?? Deer Season---Hay harvest---County Fair if you had entries
You know, the old textbook definition of normal as I was taught is that
'any accepted standards or ideals within a select group' is NORMAL for that group.
So, it may be quite normal for a boy living in the country to go hunting with his father even at a young age, wher it may not be normal for that same boy to sit in front of a television playing video games as is quite normal for many middle class urbanites.
Eating monkey brains is normal in Bankok - but, not something regulary served in most U.S. homes. My point being, I think that most of us tend to judge this event from a narrow and somewhat ignorant vantage point. As for hunting with a .50 pistol - the weapon was of sufficient caliber and force to kill a pig weighing half a ton. LAPD, and many other police departments, use more rounds on a man than that child used on an animal the size of 6 men. That kid bagged a monster and he's proud of it - just like a geek feels pride for mastering a rubics cube or a car salesman feels when he makes a big sale; It's all relative to our social environment and geography.
Monkey brains--yum yum eatem up
By the way real mince meat pie baked at christmas is made with pig brains
yah down south .where men are men and women are double breasted
The next time you (no no don't kill anything it's a sin)sit down with your Prime rib, chicken Caesar salad, hamburger ,pizza with pepperoni etc. etc. etc .realize someone killed it for you, but you are still responsible for it's death
Where the men are men and the sheep are nervous
I merely wondered how the subject of fishing had anything to do with this particular article. Of course it's a great thing to be enjoying life with children in good activities, but I still don't feel it should be like 'fishing or doing drugs' kind of mentality. No one stated if kids aren't out hunting and fishing, they will be out doing drugs!!!!
Look, I'm a teenager, living in the suburbs, who has a weekend home in the middle of the country, so i have been blessed with the oppurtunity of seeing both sides of the picture. Personally, i'm partial towards the hunter/ country way of living. Whenever i'm at the farm, i get my gun, and i hunt groundhogs (no they're not in any way related to pigs, they just make a sort of scream like a pig does.) Anyways; out there, everyone hunts. I first reveived a toy bow at age six. Then at nine, i received a BB gun. I first went hunting at age ten. I've been hooked ever since. The outdoors is the greatest thing on earth; and to have the priveledge of hunting, and then eating what you kill, is a joy so wonderful, words can't sum it up.
on the topic of the kid roaming around with his dad in the swamps, hunting pigs, well congrats to the kid. I've shot hogs down in Texas before, and let me tell you, they are not easy to kill, especially the big ones. Pigs have been proven to be the smartest, and most adaptable animals (minus apes.) For this pig to have grown to be 1,050 pounds, he'll have to have been old. And the longer they live, the wiser they get; so congrats to him.
oh, and by the way, i'm sickened by all you folks who have no idea what you are saying and are picking on this kid for hunting. COME ON!!!! grow up, spend some time outdoors, get a life. now if you'll excuse me, i gonna go out back and shoot my air rifle at some tin cans.
For all of you Animal Rights Activists, I bet that all of your ancestors killed and ate more meat most people do today, and how did they do it, they hunted animals. Hunters are Sportsman that are full of class and respect for the environment. I applaud the 11 year old. I wish that I could have been on the shooting end that day. What a bag.
Yes, the kid did shoot the pig, I believe it. I've travelled thru Mid, South and Rural American to know that this is true. Many people teach hunting skills to their kids from a young age and are proud of it.
But,more importantly shouldn't we question what kind of culture we have that takes pleasure and pride in destroying unique species? If we see a mythical-type unique creature in the middle of the forest, should not we let it be?? This unique animal has been destroyed and we all seem to be gloating or jealous of the kid. I think the forest or preserve was more interesting with the big, 'hogzilla' in it than without out it. No wonder species that make our world liveable and interesting are being made extinct. /Their skeletons decorate our walls, or we use them, spent them, plain eat them or all of the above.
In the old days when people hunted for their food it was because they had to. There was no Mcdonalds, shaw's super markets, restaurants etc. So yeah in order to survive they had to kill. This is 2007. You can walk around the corner and find a place with food, hunting is not necassary anymore. Yes it is better to actually eat the animal when you kill it, but it takes a certain kind of person to look a living creature in the eye and murder it when there is no need to. if the Indians and our ancestors could have bought their food without having to do the hard work of killing it themselves I'm sure the would have opted for that. It's not a coincidence that people who end up killing humans start off killing animals. Obviously that is an extreme case, but still, something is missing in the brain of a person who thinks so little of taking life. When hunters say they are helping the animals because they are overpopulated it's a joke. wWhat do you think is going to happen when we take their land to build on and push them into a smaller area? Also, I live in NH and the most deer I have seen are dead on the side of the road, if they were over populated they'd be in my front lawn eating the grass, but they're not. So no more lame excuses hunters, just admit it you like killing things. Hey I guess better animals than people right?!
Anyone who's ever watched a kid play a 3-D video game knows that the desire to kill something is primal. The most popular games are fighting, first person shooters and action adventure types with plenty of blood guts and dismemberment.
Maybe killing an animal is a release for this suppressed instinct that most men are born with; Or, maybe the mental masturbation that one derives from the vertual worlds a modern game system has to offer is enough - kinda' like the differences between sex and phone sex? It's all about facing the fact that we are still very much the predatory animal our ancestors were. I guess the vegans are remnants of the gatherer part of the hunter/gatherer scene we once followed.
This kid is simply enjoying the fulfilment of his natural instincts - the ones self rightous zealots pretend not to have. Uh, this may need to be dumbed down a bit for the tree hugging animal rights activists out there. too weird even for me to stomach right now.
tradition-schmission unless this kid is the size of a....dennys breakfast including sausage made from feral pig from a game preserve (sigh)...a .50 cal pistol is too much gun. you cannot help these people parent , but ya gotta feel weird about the casual relationship americans have with guns...yeah , its common in the south and the south is becoming this fat farm covered in litter , shacks ,dope and stupid consumerism gone berserk. myrtle beach?? orlando? houston?? holy shit , america you need a serious overhaul of your value system and you need to ......go feral pig hunting !
tradition-schmission unless this kid is the size of a....dennys breakfast including sausage made from feral pig from a game preserve (sigh)...a .50 cal pistol is too much gun. you cannot help these people parent , but ya gotta feel weird about the casual relationship americans have with guns...yeah , its common in the south and the south is becoming this island of dr moreau place america you need an overhaul of your value system and you need to ......go feral pig hunting !
Somebody plugged resturant... twice. At least plug a good one, please!
I think farmcity should have spent a little more time on school work and less on hunting by the looks of the comment!!
What's the big deal about an 11 year old boy hunting? That is commonplace in the more rural areas of the US. People in those areas grow up with guns, and are generally instructed in their safe use early on. Kids out in the countryside often start hunting squirrels and rabbits when they are 6 or 7 years old.
To answer the questions posed at the beginning of the article:
'First, why was an 11 year old roaming the woods with a loaded gun?'
Because it is amazingly hard to shoot a hog with an unloaded gun.
'Second, what on earth caused the feral pig to exceed 1000 pounds?'
Maybe he ate like a pig?
'Lastly, why would parents actually permit an 11 year-old be in the woods where other roaming kids with guns and gi-hugent wild animals were running around?'
As you noted, his father and the hunting guides were with him. He was in the woods with the gi-hugent wild animals because he was hunting them. What makes you think that there were lots of kids running to and fro with guns? I don't recall reading any reports of that unlikely event at all.
Sorry, Disgusted. Your argument doesn't make sense. If you eat at McDonalds, you just killed a cow. Well, not a whole one, but it's the same thing. If I don't eat at McDonald's, they won't buy as much meat and not as many cows will be slaughtered. And, if I just killed 1000 lbs of pork, none of my family would be eating at McDonald's for months, maybe a year!
Besides that, McDonald's beef is grade D. That is not an exaggeration. You put so many chemicals and hormones in your body with every bite of a McD burger, it's disgusting. Hunting and eating your own is FAR better. If everyone did that, McD would go out of business. YAY!
Kids out hunting at 6 or 7!!! I'm fron a hunting family, but that wouldn't be a good thing or allowed at that age. Young kids don't have the capacity to think like an adult, even if some people believe they are.
To Disgusted - maybe there aren't many deer where you live, but don't judge that by other places where there are large herds of them roaming and most definitely in people's yards stripping vegitation, besides causing countless accidents on the roads.
stone and dakota yall r some losers that dont know what u r talkin bout ur jus jealous that he bagged an awesome game and u were prolly drinkin beer sittin on the couch gosh dang hes 11 years old
hey disgusted just cuz u dont agree wit hunting dont mean u have to be a baby and whine to every1 else...............u make no sence at all with ur comments.....now u write back and tell me this r u a vegetarian?if u aint then u were downing urself u big idiot!!!!!
hey shawn that was a goos point way to go........shake and bake......
Now the truth comes out, and it is even more disgusting than first thought!!
The poor pig almost sounds like a pet instead of a feral pig roaming the woods.
Also, I agree that no kid needs to go around shooting with a revolver - what's next - assault weapons for 6 year olds!!
It's still just a pig; a REALLY BIG pig. Visit a pig farm, a cattle ranch,
or better yet a rendering plant if you want to see what really happens to these
cute little animals before they get processed, packaged and sold to the public as various food items. Then, maybe this crap won't upset some of you so much.
It's just that the story was all wrong in the first place!! Of course we all know that animals are buthered for food - this was not the case!!!
I think that you all need to stop dwelling on a little kid that shot a fricken pig and just get over it and move on with your life. You obviously have nothing else to do better with your time that you have to sit here and argue over it.
END OF STORY!!!!
To Way to go 11 year old: You obviously did not understand my comment. Let me dumb it down for you. Yes I do eat meat, and I am aware of what goes on in a meat factory, and no I don't agree with it but humans were made to eat meat. If we could be healthy without the protein in it than I would be a vegetarian, but no matter how many protein substitutes you take, it is not healthy to not eat meat. With that said, my comment was simply implying that it is not neccesary to hunt animals anymore. Call it what you will but I would much rather pick out a nice steak at a grocery store than go into the woods and shoot a living creature. And anyone who thinks differently is a little touched in the head. Also, I threw in the McDonalds part because it is a place that is sadly frequented by many americans. No big surprise since this is the fattest country in the world. I, however, do not eat there because it isn't healthy. Only intelligent people who understand that this world will only survive and flourish with all it's inhabitants living in harmony would understand my comment. Unfortunately that is not alot of people, and humans will continue to take from this planet and not give back. Sad that the most 'intelligent' species on this earth will be the one to destroy it.
come the heck on. there is nothing ridiculous about this. other than the size of the pig. i am not a hunter. i could not hunt. i do not have the heart for it. i couldn't kill an animal for the life of me. but it is fully a respectable sport. even more so when it's father and son. an 11 yr old boy is more than capable of handling a fire arm. hell back in the day (way back) sons were taught how to handle firearms and hunt at 6 years old. though out of necessity then, it still proves they can do it now.
soooo now you have been widdled down to 'well why would parents allows kids in big 1000lb pig land?'
do you even read what you report? it clearly states - A.) this was a HUNTING trip and B.) A hog of this size is incredibly rare and TWICE as large as the usual LARGER hogs.
B is key. how the hell was this boy's father to know that there would be a massive pig out there?
please stop with this, 'i'm better than him cause i wouldn't do that' crap. if you have ever been hiking with your kids you HAVE done that. any where their are wild animals there is inherent danger. ALWAYS. the only difference, these people were armed and trained to use their arms. in the event of an animal attack they could defend themselves. you on the other hand would have to play dead or run. i will take the trip into animal country with the gunslingers any day.
i apologize for focusing on you because you are not alone. this applies to a lot of people. but this is your story and you chose to take the cheap shot at the end. so the focus is on you.
please stop it.. i advocate every environmentally friendly thing ever created. and i believe this planet will be gone in under 70 years. and i can tell you one thing. it's not from hunting. you do realize that the steak you would rather get from the grocery store is responsible for loads of deforestation. which kills and displaces over 700% more animals than hunting ever will? i am not a fan of hunting couldn't kill a flea. but don't try and say it environmentally unfriendly. in fact most hunters do more to conserve this planet than anyone else. and they do it right. not by terrorizing industries. but by actively helping to preserve. sure you have the weekend warrior types who have no respect and just want to kill. but 90% of hunters enjoy the hunt. not the kill. i'd like to see you track an animal for 15 miles and say it requires no skill. you couldn't find an elephant in a cabbage patch. ok well why kill it you ask? because then comes the second part, skill shooting. and once it's over with you have continued the circle of life. respect for nature is key to the sport. any only those with true respect for the planet will ever fully understand it. i don't even hunt but i am sure many hunters will agree. everything dies. everything MUST die. for every animal a game hunter kills, 500 more die at the hands of other animals. all of our times are numbered. deal with it.
To DisgracetoNH: Why don't you try reading the comment, thinking about it, understanding it, and then putting together an intelligent response. Never did I say it was environmentally unfriendly to hunt. What I did say was that people need to get the idea that we are superior to every other living thing on this planet, and have the right to use it for our advantage without giving anything back, out of their heads. Hunters kill animals because they think it is their right to do so. That since they are human they are better, and animals were put here for our sake. The circle of life does not contiue when a deer is shot and eaten, or a bear shot and stuffed. The circle of life is a deer living out its life dying of natural causes, decaying into the ground, and grass groeing in that spot that a future deer will eat. Humans are not in the cirlce of life. Nothing benefits from us except other humans. Yes there are people out there who do wonderful work trying to save us from ourselves. Unfortunatly they are out numbered by the ignorant ones, and it's those ones who will be the cause of our demise. The only way we could truly fix this problem would be to impose limits on the number of children people are allowed to have, since obviously this planet can only hold so many people, animals, etc., enforce the use of electric cars, make recycling mandatory, limit the amount of land in areas to a certain unbuildable land/buildable land ratio, but of course that would be communism and god forbid we do that! Instead we can continue to milk this earth for everything it has, and hey, who cares what happens to our children, our children's children and generations to come because we won't be here!
To all who are ' Aghast ' at hunting. I have never looked at my teeth as straws. They are not hollowed out tubes that ingest fluids for my survival. Nope! Sorry.
They are well disigned Cutting tools for tearing flesh.
If you are so inclined to live by the ultimate credo of the ' Circle of Life '
I stongly suggest that you NEVER, EVER eat another piece of Fish, Poultry, Meat or anything else, from the super market, grocery store, farmer, etc. that was ' KILLED ' for YOUR consumption. Remember.....it was KILLED!!! not circled thru in the ' Circle of Life ' that you hide behind to protect that fragile concsciense that you have.
You are worse than anyone who ' Hunts ' for their own food. You actually pay others to KILL your food for you. You are not strong enough spirtiually to survive with the tools that GOD gave us for natural survival.
Look at Natural Disasters around the World. Hundreds of thousands of people....depending on others to feed them. Me and my Wife???? Nahhhh.
I will kill and eat in style. I can also make fire from flint and steel.
I will cook the neighborhood cats and dogs. I DO NOT rely on the ' Others ' in society to help me or feed me. Look at Hurricane Katrina....Remember the starving, homeless AMERICANS?
My Wife is very secure with the Animals that I put in the freezer by stalking, shooting and KILLING myself. And yer Damn right I am proud of what I do. I survive. I flourish. Just like the apex predators in the wild. Is a Cougar a sick demented animal for bringing down a Deer for survival just because it is the apex predator over the Deer? The neither am I.
Folks like you are so caught up in their heart strings and have lost touch with life as reality. Did you know, that it was the ' HUNTERS ' that brought back the Turkeys, Whitetail Deer, Elk and other species???? It sure as hell wasn't the rights groups.
We imposed a non-hunting season on ourselves in the 1930's for 5 years on the Whitetail Deer in Mo. Then, a wealthy business man brought in a railroad, with box cars full of these Deer, releasing a 100 every so many miles. He too was a hunter.
Our taxes that are applied to every piece of hunting clothing, ammo, arrows, bows, licenses, tags, scents, everything in the world pertaining to hunting, goes to wildlife restoration. If YOU ANTI'S don't buy this stuff....you make squat for a contribution..
So, the next time you see a hunter, give him a hug and thank him or her for helping to restore the wildlife populations back to where they we for your viewing pleasure. We know we are proud of ourselves.
Good for the little boy... But the memory he will have of his big hunt will be a messed up one... The Media (ha) what a joke... My 4 (FOUR) year old nephew Dalton shot a doe in Alabama this Wednesday.(deer for those of you that don't know what a doe is) We didn't dare call the news paper or the news channels. Just Because we didn't want all this negative around him... He did a good job and as far as we know could be the youngest to ever kill a deer with a riffle. But instead of his possibly being featured in a magazine, We will keep this memory to ourselves.
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